Energy Research Center Research Articles

Segmented mandrel tests of as-received and hydrogenated WWER fuel cladding tubes

The mechanical interaction between the fuel pellet and the cladding tube of a nuclear fuel rod is a very important for safety studies as this phenomenon could lead to fuel failure and release of radioactivity. To investigate the ductility of cladding tubes used in WWER type nuclear power plants, several mandrel tests were performed in the Centre for Energy Research (EK). This modified mandrel test was used to model the mechanical interaction between the fuel pellet and the cladding using a segmented tool. The tests were conducted at room temperature and at 300 °C with inactive as-received and hydrogenated cladding ring samples. The results show a gradual decrease in ductility as the hydrogen content increases, the ductile-brittle transition was seen above 1500 ppm hydrogen absorbed.

The PCOR Partnership Initiative: The State of the Region

The PCOR Initiative, a 5-year project beginning in early 2020, is one of four newly selected regional initiative awards funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The PCOR Initiative will accelerate the deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) in the central and northwestern region of North America, comprising ten U.S. states and four Canadian provinces. With extensive fossil fuel resources, large-scale anthropogenic CO2 sources, and geologic storage options, this region provides all of the essential elements necessary for infrastructure development and widespread CCUS deployment. The project builds on 16 years of applied research undertaken by the Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership throughout the northern Great Plains, including the successful assessment and monitoring of over 6 million metric tons of associated CO2 storage, incidental to enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations at the Bell Creek oil field in southeastrn Montana. Managed by the Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) in Grand Forks, North Dakota, the PCOR Initiative is supported by the North Dakota Industrial Commission, through the Oil and Gas and Lignite Research Programs, and by research partners at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks and the University of Wyoming. Many of the 120+ previous PCOR Partnership member organizations are supporting this new initiative, with additional members also expected. Our team also includes the partners associated with Project Tundra, which constitutes the largest planned capture of CO2 in the world from a power generation facility. With many partners actively engaged in commercial projects, the PCOR Initiative draws together a powerful team to advance and accelerate CCUS deployment in the region and satisfy the objectives put forth by DOE. The PCOR Initiative will identify and address onshore regional storage and transport challenges facing commercial deployment of CCUS within its region. To achieve this, the PCOR Initiative will 1) address key technical challenges by advancing critical knowledge and capabilities; 2) facilitate data collection, sharing, analysis, and collaboration; 3) evaluate regional infrastructure challenges and needs; and 4) promote regional technology transfer. The PCOR Initiative will engage federal and state regulators in the region to support the continued development and knowledge transfer of regulatory policies to accelerate the deployment of CCUS. The regulatory efforts will focus on understanding the federal and state permitting processes and timing and address major regulatory topics, including pore space ownership, practical approaches to defining the area of review, and management of the long-term liability associated with a closed storage site. The PCOR Initiative will facilitate dialogue regarding the status of CCUS projects and regulatory challenges, with an emphasis on knowledge transfer between states with active CCUS projects and Class VI primacy and states with less CCUS development and no CCUS regulations established. North Dakota is the only state currently with Class VI primacy, and Wyoming has a pending Class VI primacy application. These states can provide valuable insight to other states by sharing their learnings from the Class VI primacy application process and Class VI regulatory program implementation at the state level. The expected outcomes of the PCOR Initiative include: • Solving technical challenges through collaboration, and addressing issues including stacked storage; storage optimization; effective monitoring, verification, and accounting strategies; and risk assessment resulting in increased regulator and industry confidence. • Advancing knowledge transfer and data sharing to develop key technologies, including National Risk Assessment Partnership tools and machine-learning applications, through collaboration with the DOE National Laboratory Network complex. • Accelerating CCUS through the evaluation and promotion of infrastructure requirements, building stakeholder support through techno- and socioeconomic assessments. • Promoting regional technology transfer to accelerate infrastructure development and deployment of CCUS, and building regulatory confidence and supporting business case developments that support the CCUS goals of the DOE Fossil Energy Program.

First North Dakota CCS Project: Advancing North Dakota Ethanol Economics

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), in partnership since 2016 with North Dakota ethanol producer Red Trail Energy (RTE), the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC), the U.S. Department of Energy, and Trimeric Corporation, has determined that commercial carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a technically viable option for the significant reduction of CO2 emissions from ethanol production at the RTE site near Richardton, North Dakota. In addition, CCS may be economically viable for RTE should pathways be approved for this lower-carbon-intensity ethanol in developing low-carbon fuel (LCF) programs. Current activities are allowing project partners to move closer to creating the first integrated CCS effort in North Dakota. Capture Facility Moves Closer to Construction. Project partner, Trimeric Corporation, developed process flow diagrams (PFDs), heat and material balances, piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs), and utilities documents specific to the RTE project site to prepare a bid package for potential vendor response. Three vendor bids for the potential liquefied CO2 system were received and evaluated. A CO2 capture process design package document was developed, compiling the PFDs, heat and material balances, and P&IDs, including recommendations from the vendor bids received. Geophysical Survey Provides More Clarity of the Subsurface. An 8-square-mile 3-D geophysical survey was conducted at the RTE site near Richardton, North Dakota, in March 2019. Data processing and interpretation from the seismic acquisition survey have been completed. Results were incorporated into the geologic modeling simulation efforts from the first stage of the project to determine recommended locations for the future stratigraphic test. Baseline Near-Surface Monitoring Begins. The EERC is investigating seasonal changes related to the natural carbon cycle of regional soil and groundwater in the study region near Richardton, North Dakota. Groundwater- and soil gas-monitoring activities included meter readings on location as well as sample collection for a full suite of laboratory analyses to establish natural water and soil gas conditions through several seasons. Three sampling events were conducted in May, August, and November 2019. Preparing the First North Dakota Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class VI Permit Application. North Dakota’s Class VI Program requires all owners/operators applying to inject CO2 for the purpose of geologic storage to obtain a storage facility permit, a permit to drill, and a permit to operate prior to commencement of injection activities. The storage facility permit covers multiple design aspects such as technical evaluation, area-of-review delineation, a corrective action plan, an emergency and remedial response plan, a casing and cementing program, a testing and monitoring plan, a well-plugging plan, and a postinjection site care and facility closure plan. Draft plans are currently under development using existing regional data available and the recently acquired seismic survey results. The permit-to-drill application for a stratigraphic test hole was also prepared, submitted, and approved in December 2019. Results from the test hole will provide the necessary data to finalize the storage facility permit for submittal. Building CCS Support in North Dakota Through Outreach. Significant outreach activities for this rural North Dakota project have included two community open houses, presentations at local commission meetings, and maintaining up-to-date materials to communicate project information and progress. The first open house was organized and held in March 2019. About 30 community visitors were hosted, including participation by the EERC, RTE, and North Dakota permitting agents; feedback was generally positive and supportive for the project. RTE and the EERC also presented at county and city commission meetings several times throughout 2019. Outreach materials were prepared such as a RTE CCS fact sheet, Geophysical Survey FAQs and Sampling FAQs, and Geophysical Survey Results. A follow-up open house was conducted in December 2019. Next Steps in 2020: Drilling a Stratigraphic Test Hole. A next step in development toward implementation is to drill a stratigraphic test hole at the RTE site by summer 2020. The EERC will provide technical assistance to conduct reservoir characterization through analysis of collected core and interpretation of downhole tests from the drilling effort. Downhole monitoring technology will also be installed to begin collection of baseline data. These activities will generate the necessary scientific data for CO2 storage predictions and development of the numerous plans (e.g., monitoring, testing, reporting, etc.) required to finalize the first North Dakota Class VI Program permit application.

Typical performance reductions in pv modules subject to soiling in a tropical climate

Soiling severely hinders the ability of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules to absorb incident solar radiation, causing significant deterioration of module performances. In this study, the thermal profiles and the electrical power outputs of PV modules were evaluated in order to establish the impact of soiling under tropical field conditions. Two case-study PV installations in the Universityof Nigeria were considered. Assessments of the PV systems, undertaken both when soiled and after they had been cleaned, involved the measurement of electrical power outputs and the acquisition of infrared (IR) thermograms. It was found that soiling had noticeable impacts on both module surface temperature distributions and their power outputs. The IR images, which showed spatial distributions of module surface temperatures, revealed the occurrence of hotspots on the modules when soiled. Furthermore, as a result of soiling, up to four-fold declines in module electrical efficiencies were observed. These declines were more significant in theground-mounted PV system at the University Staff Primary School compared to the roofmounted system at the University Energy Research Centre. Simple cleaning of the modules led to the disappearance of hotspots and significant improvements in output, showing that it is an effective means of maintaining PV modules performance and recovering the performance potentials lost due to soiling.
 Keywords: solar PV, PV soiling, infrared thermography, module failure, PV performance

Report on Visit to Hydrogen Energy Test and Research Center & Hydrogen Energy Center at Kyushu University

Report on Visit to Hydrogen Energy Test and Research Center & Hydrogen Energy Center at Kyushu University

Investigating the environmental pollution caused by steel slag in Dana steel rolling mill plant, Katsina

Presence of heavy metals in the soil may contaminate the surrounding environment which causes chronic diseases. The waste steel slag in Dana steel rolling mill Katsina, Nigeria is always dumped within the premises of the company. Therefore, this research examined the level of environmental pollution caused by the deposited steel slag. Minipal 4 version of PW4030 X –Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (XRF Spectrometer) was used to analyse the chemical composition of sample A (slag), sample B (mill scale), sample C (humus soil) and sample D (humus soil and slag) at Centre for Energy Research and Training, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Chemical compounds were detected in all the samples with oxides, Fe2O3 (11.8% - 86.13%) and SiO2 (4.41% - 57.7%) dominating. Product moment correlation coefficient was used to compare the effect of Slag (sample A) on Humus soil (sample C). The result obtained has shown that, the calculated value r = + 0.763 is greater than the table value r = + 0.483 at 5% level of significance and 15 d.f. This indicates that, the correlation between the two samples is highly significant. Fe2O3, MnO and ZnO trace elements in the humus soil were enriched after cultured with slag sample and P2O5, K2O, CaO, and SO3 trace elements that are useful for plants growth and development were leached.

Application of CO2 injection monitoring techniques for CO2 EOR and associated geologic storage

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), through its efforts leading the Plains CO2 Reduction (PCOR) Partnership, has successfully developed practices and technologies that can be used in future commercial-scale CO2 storage projects in different geologic formations, including both dedicated CO2 storage in saline formations and associated CO2 storage incidental to enhanced oil recovery (EOR). In this work, reservoir monitoring activities have been conducted in a large-scale CO2 EOR project to understand performance and associated storage. The activities include pulsed-neutron well logs (PNLs), 4D (time-lapse 3D) seismic surveys, and numerical simulation of injection and production. This enabled monitoring at different scales, from individual wells to field-scale reservoir assessments. The oil, water, and CO2 saturations were profiled to identify bypassed oil and high-conductivity CO2 migration pathways in the reservoir. These techniques provided actionable information, enabling better management of CO2 flooding, diagnosing performance and sweep efficiency while ensuring injected CO2 remained within the reservoir.

Dust Accumulation, Heavy Metal Content and Stomata Morphology of Some Medicinal Plants at Rock Quarrying Locations at Lokpaukwu, Nigeria

Aims: This study evaluated the effect of rock quarrying on dust accumulation, heavy metal content and stomata features of some medicinal plants at Lokpaukwu, Nigeria.
 Place and Duration of Study: Sample collection was carried out at the quarry sites in Lokpaukwu, followed by laboratory analyses which were conducted in the Department of Pharmacognosy and Environmental Medicines and Centre for Energy Research and Development (CERD), University of Nigeria, Nsukka between January and March, 2019.
 Methodology: Five (5) commonly used medicinal plants were selected and collected from the two pollution sites (A and B). Same species collected 20 km away from the sites served as control. Clearing method was employed in foliar micro-analysis while heavy metal accumulation in the samples was estimated by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS).
 Results: The study showed considerable variation in dust load among the plants from each study site. This led to some observed physiological anomalies– occlusion of stomata pores, plasmolysis, and shrunk epidermal cells. Quantitative stomata parameters were also affected as plants from polluted sites had narrower pores and more number of stomata than the control. Concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Zn, Cd, As and Cu) in plants collected from dust polluted sites were also higher than those from the control location. For example, lead and cadmium concentration in most of the plants were in this order: site A > site B > site C.
 Conclusion: These findings have further validated reports of earlier researchers on the deleterious effects of dust pollution as a result of quarrying activities on plant health. Strict compliance to precautionary and mitigation measures by both the inhabitants and quarry companies are recommended for safer environment and good health.

ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY OF PANDEMIC AND POST-PANDEMIC ENVIRONMENTS

The modern fast-paced era, characterized by sudden changes in various processes, these changes can be both positive and negative. In this case we are dealing with a pandemic like COVID-19. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the world hard, shutting down giants, locking most of the world's population at homes, "resting the environment", people using less transport, reducing the atmosphere, emitting pollutants, diversifying, clearing the sky, clearing the water and oxygen-loving fauna has spread. The process of overcoming the coronavirus crisis is a chance to achieve a dual effect - to stimulate economies - to create new jobs and at the same time accelerate greenery - to start a new design and revitalize a sustainable, inclusive economy and industry, to maintain vital biodiversity and biodiversity 50-55% reduction compared to 1990 by 2030. The European Green Agreement investment plan covers areas such as: sustainable mobility, renewable energy, building renovation, research and innovation, biodiversity restoration, circular economics. The Green Pact is a guide to the right decisions to respond to the economic crisis and transform Europe into a sustainable and climate-neutral economy. The impact of the pandemic on the environment in particular the pandemic and post-pandemic environment is interesting. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the world hard, shutting down giants, locking up most of the world's population in their homes, resting the environment, using less transport, reducing emissions, making the sky more diverse, brighter and more transparent. The water was purified, oxygen increased, and oxygen-loving fauna has spared; In the spring of 2020, the water in the canals of Venice became so rich in oxygen and transparent that fish appeared on the bottom, Pisces, it was in Italy that the quarantine rules were introduced, reduced the flow of tourists in accordance with its accompanying actions. The work of industrial enterprises in the world has decreased, the cessation of Chinese industry of the world's largest polluter has drastically breathed the environment, people have seen the clear sky. According to the Energy and Clean Air Research Center during the pandemic, CO2 emissions from air in China fell by 25% (from February 3 to March 1) due to anti-pandemic measures. , Reduce production volume and restrict transportation. It is known that 30% of world CO2 emissions come from China. The number of "clean days" has increased Humans rudely interfere with the functioning of the natural environment and often lead to imbalances and deteriorating environmental sustainability! Deforestation and wildfires, a clear example of which is the devastating forest fires in Brazil. (These forests accounted for 20% of the world's oxygen balance). The European Green Agreement investment plan covers areas such as: sustainable mobility, renewable energy, building renovation, research and innovation, biodiversity restoration, circular economy. The Green Agreement is a guide to the right decisions to respond to the economic crisis and transform Europe into a sustainable and climate-neutral economy; Georgia's post-crisis plan cannot ignore the Green Agreement and the fundamental principles of sustainable development cannot be abandoned and do not keep the pandemic of the period, the "calm of the environment", at least in part, the greatest opportunities for the production of green products. Local products increased in the markets, the population managed not only to provide for their own families, but also to bring the produced products to the market and to supplement the family budget, the population migrated from the cities to the regions, thus unloading the city and improving the environment. Thus, the post-pandemic period will not be so alarming for the environment, if there is a correct vision of the states and the provision of measures aimed at sustainable development and eco-peace. And at once the giants will not be heavily loaded "Green life" will become our everyday life.

How to respond to a crime scene contaminated with radioactive material?

Radioactive materials have become a marked target for criminal and terrorist organizations in recent years, as they can be effective tools for generating panic and serious economic damage when used in a variety of weapons (e.g. explosive devices capable of dispersing radioactive material). In addition, radioactive material has been used in several cases to commit crimes such as poisoning or radiation exposure of potential target persons. The most famous matter is the so-called ‘Litvinenko case’, in which a Russian intelligence officer was poisoned with polonium in 2006. In addition to the international cases, however, radioactive materials are also found in Hungary from time to time during home searches. Even the detection of these materials can be challenging in the absence of appropriate detection equipment. Their exact identification, collection and specific examination requires specialized expertise. If the crime scene personnel do not detect the presence of radioactivity at the scene in a timely manner (e. g. because it cannot be detected without measuring equipment), the persons working there may subsequently suffer serious damage to health, as well as large areas and objects can be contaminated by dispersed radioactive material. It can also cause serious economic damage. This article describes an operating procedure for the professional respond to crime scenes contaminated with radioactive material, developed by experts of the Hungarian National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Forensics Department and radiologists at the Centre for Energy Research in the frame of a project supported by the Home Affairs Security Fund.

Economic Effect of Dust Particles on Photovoltaic Plant Production

The performance of photovoltaic panels decreases depending on the different factors to which they are subjected daily. One of the phenomena that most affects their energy production is dust deposition. This is particularly acute in desert climates, where the level of solar radiation is extreme. In this work, the effect of dust soiling is examined on the electricity generation of an experimental photovoltaic pilot plant, installed at the Solar Energy Research Center (CIESOL) at the University of Almería. An average reduction of 5% of the power of a photovoltaic plant due to dust contamination has been obtained, this data being used to simulate the economic effect in plants of 9 kWp and 1 and 50 MWp. The economic losses have been calculated, and are capable of being higher than 150,000 €/year in industrial plants of 50 MWp. A cleaning strategy has also been presented, which represents a substantial economic outlay over the years of plant operation.

Infrared observation of ballooning and burst of nuclear fuel cladding tubes

Nuclear fuel claddings can balloon and rupture at high temperatures under internal gas pressure in case of design basis accidents like loss-of-coolant-accident (LOCA). The thermal phenomena surrounding the ballooning and cracking was investigated in a series of experiments performed using zirconium alloy cladding tubes at the Centre for Energy Research in Hungary.The experiments were recorded using a high-speed infrared camera in the intermediate infrared range and the temperatures were measured in-situ. It was found that before the rupture of the cladding tube, the ballooned cladding surface forms a bulge and heats up locally, a hot spot appears. During crack propagation, the crack tip temperature is significantly warmer than the rest of the tube. The hot spot temperature and the rate of temperature increase was determined. The infrared emission coefficient of the slightly oxidized zirconium cladding samples in the intermediate infrared range was also determined. The emissivity coefficient that fit our measurements was found to be around ε = 0.89.

Reaction Kinetics of Zn2+ with Radiolysis Products in Molten LiCl-KCl Eutectic

A thorough understanding of radiation effects on molten salt media is necessary to support the design, development, and deployment of molten salt reactor, using either fuel salt or solid fuel with salt as the coolant. Fundamental issues include the determination of the initial yields and reactivity of the primary radiolytic species, i.e., the solvated electron (esolv –), chlorine atom (Cl•), and dichloride radical anion (Cl2 •–) as their reactivity varies depending on the environment such as the salt cation and temperature. Here we report on the reaction kinetics for esolv – and Cl2 •– in molten LiCl-KCl eutectic doped with Zn2+ ions. Electron pulse radiolysis absorption spectroscopy was used to observe the transient behavior of esolv – and Cl2 •– on the nanosecond to microsecond time scale. Experiments were performed using the Brookhaven National Laboratory Laser-Electron Accelerator Facility (LEAF)1 and utilizing a recently developed high-temperature sample holder.2 Decay kinetics of of esolv – and Cl2 •– in 9.41 mM ZnCl2 in LiCl-KCl are shown in the figure. esolv – and Cl2 •– decays in different time scale due to different reaction kinetics and decay speed increase as temperature.This work was supported as part of the Molten Salts in Extreme Environments Energy Frontier Research Center, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (US-DOE), Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, at BNL, INL and ORNL under contracts DE-SC0012704, DE-AC07-05ID14517 and DE-FC02-04ER15533, respectively. The Laser Electron Accelerator Facility of the BNL Accelerator Center for Energy Research is supported by the US-DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences under contract DE-SC0012704. Wishart, J. F.; Cook, A. R.; Miller, J. R.; Rev. Sci. Instrum., 2004, 75 (11), 4359.Phillips, W. C.; Layne, B.; Gakhar, R.; Horne, G. P.; Ramos-Ballesteros, A.; Iwamatsu, K.; LaVerne, J. A.; Pimblott, S. M.; Wishart, J. F.; Rev. Sci. Instrum., 2019, in peer review. Figure 1

Energy balance and performance assessment of PV systems installed at a positive-energy building (PEB) solar energy research centre

The energy balance and performance of all Photovoltaic (PV) systems installed at Fotovoltaica/UFSC solar energy laboratory (www.fotovoltaica.ufsc.br) in Florianópolis, Brazil (27° S; 48° W) were demonstrated over time, from Aug/2017 to Feb/2020. The laboratory was designed as a zero-energy building (ZEB) with PV systems installed on rooftops and façades, not maximising annual generation, but to achieve a compromise between aesthetic appeal and the energy output. Further PV systems were installed on the same site in the shapes of a carport, an electric bus (eBus) shelter and charging station, and different ground-mounted PV systems fixed at latitude tilt and single-axis tracking. Monthly analyses were carried out during the period, such as the solar irradiation availability on site, changes in the number of building occupants, the increase of installed capacity of PV systems, and energy generation and consumption. With 111 kWp, the total PV generation in the period could supply 148% of building energy needs and 97% of the Fotovoltaica/UFSC Laboratory (building plus eBus). However, there were some downtime events in certain PV systems due to R&D activities, which affected total energy production. If systems had operated at their optimal performance all the time, the laboratory could have generated 38% more energy, which means 134% of building plus eBus consumption. Therefore, the Fotovoltaica/UFSC Laboratory can be considered not only a ZEB, but a positive-energy building (PEB). The issues discussed in this paper apply not only to the particular case-study presented; they demonstrate the potential of BIPV in enabling energy positive buildings.

Assessment of Heavy Metals in Water Contaminated with Petroleum Products in Keffi Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Nigeria.

This work assessed the presence of heavy metals in water contaminated with petroleum products in Keffi Local Government Area. Two water sampling station were selected based on the stratified method of sampling of Antau River. Station A is located along Federal Government College Keffi popularly known as Antau Bridge where Agricultural and mechanical activities, with sales of petroleum product take place. Station B was located at Dadin Kowa known as Gada Manu where human activities such as bathing and washing takes place which served as control. The distance between stations is 1km. The procedural plan of this study was monthly sampling of water from both Stations. Materials such as funnel, sampling container, distilled water, conical flask, filter paper, 50ml polypropylene centrifuge tube, cooler were used. Heavy metal concentration was determined using X – ray Fluorescent Spectroscopy (XRF) at the Center for Energy Research and Training (CERT), Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. The water parameters of the four samples were determined using the Extech instrument. The result on Physico – chemical parameters revealed the values obtained from contaminated water samples to be pH (7.31), Dissolved Oxygen (1.14), Electrical Conductivity (8.22), Total Dissolved Solid (4.13), Temperature (27.45) and Salinity (0.091) while the controlled Station at point B were pH (7.43), DO (7.35), EC (3.14), TDS (1.54), Temperature (26.75), Salinity (0.o94) respectively. From the result obtained, the heavy metal contaminated samples had the following values: Mg (29.31±), Al (218.69±), Si (230.12±), S (1153.65±), Cl (54.25±), Ca (106.56±), Ti (23.66±), Cr (3.15±), Fe (15.92±), Cd (7.54±). For the control sample at point B, the following values were obtained: Mg (27.49±), Al (223.71±), Si (243.21±), S (94.84±), Cl (23.52±), Ca (28.44±), Ti (32.99±), Fe (16.63±), Cd (7.67±) respectively. The P-value was 0.8105 (p>0.05) for the water quality parameters while for the concentration of heavy metal P-value was 0.2054 (p>0.05). This implies that there was no significant difference between the concentrations of elements. However, the concentration values of heavy metals in the contaminated water at Station A and control water samples at Station B were higher than the World Health Organization values (Standard) for drinking water

How to respond a crime scene contaminated with radioactive material?

Radioactive materials have become an explicit target for criminal and terrorist organizations in recent years, as they can be effective tools for panic and serious economic damage generation when used in a variety of weapons (e.g. explosive devices capable of dispersing radioactive material). In addition, radioactive material has been used in several cases to commit crimes such as poisoning or radiation exposure to potential target persons. The most famous is the so-called ‘Litvinenko case’, in which a Russian intelligence officer was poisoned with polonium in 2006. In addition to the international cases, however, radioactive material is also found in Hungary time-to-time during home searches. Even the detection of these materials can be challenging in the absence of appropriate detection equipment. Their exact identification, collection and specific examination requires specialized expertise. If the crime scene personnel does not detect the presence of radioactivity at the scene in a timely manner (e.g, because it cannot be detected without measuring equipment), the persons working there may subsequently suffer serious damage to health, as well as large areas and objects can be contaminated by dispersed radioactive material. It can also cause serious economic damage. This article describes an operating procedure for the professional respond of crime scenes contaminated with radioactive material, developed by experts of the Hungarian National Police, National Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Forensics Department and radiologists at the Centre for Energy Research in the frame of a project supported by the Home Affairs Security Fund.

Simulation of Mixed Power Generation and Absorption Cooling System

Paper The energy shortage in today's world has shifted the view of researchers to the optimal use of available energy, and experts from energy research centers have always taken steps to achieve this important issue. In the present study, the focus is on the simulation of a mixed system which, in addition to generating power, uses the heat dissipated from its chimney to produce cooling using an absorption chiller. This mixed system is simulated in EES software. The performance of the mixed system is examined in three different views, and in each view, the values of cold loads are obtained from the absorption chiller.

Guest Editors’ Foreword Special Section on the 2019 IEEE International Workshop on Applied Measurements for Power Systems (AMPS 2019)

The IEEE International Workshop on Applied Measurements for Power Systems (AMPS) is the main event promoted by TC-39 of the Instrumentation and Measurement Society (Measurements in Power Systems). The 2019 edition is particularly significant because it is the tenth of a series that began in 2010 in Aachen, Germany. For this reason, after two years, it was decided to come back home and celebrate the tenth anniversary at the E.ON Energy Research Center, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany, where AMPS was hosted on September 25–27, 2019.

Energy Consumption of Cryptocurrencies Beyond Bitcoin

Ulrich Gallersdörfer is a research associate in the Department of Informatics at the Technical University of Munich. His research focuses on identity management in blockchains. His interest extends to further aspects of the technology, ranging from environmental implications to data analytics applications.Lena Klaaßen is a graduate student at TUM School of Management at the Technical University of Munich. She is specialized in energy markets and accounting. Her research focuses on carbon accounting in the corporate and cryptocurrency space. She has previously analyzed blockchain-related firms for a venture capital fund.Christian Stoll conducts research at the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at the Center for Energy Markets of the Technical University of Munich. His research focuses on the implications of climate change from an economic point of view.

Current Status and Prospects of the Research Using Energetic Ion Beams at the Wakasa Wan Energy Research Center

Current Status and Prospects of the Research Using Energetic Ion Beams at the Wakasa Wan Energy Research Center